Calling Netanhayu the "leader of the Jewish people," Gregory challenged Netanyahu to take a position on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's assertion that President Barack Obama has "thrown allies like Israel under the bus."

"You say you don't want to interfere in the election — there were tens of millions of Americans who are watching that speech, who hear that rhetoric, who hear that charge, who may not understand the complexities of this issue," Gregory told Netanyahu. "You say this is not a partisan issue. You get billions of dollars from direct foreign investment from this country, hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans, Jews and Christians alike, from this country. It seems to me that for you to remain silent on whether this nation has thrown Israel under the bus is tantamount to agreeing with the sentiment. So where do you come down on this specific charge against President Obama?"

But Netanyahu wouldn't take the bait.

"There's no bus," he replied. "And we're not going to get into that discussion, except to say one thing. We have a strong alliance, and we're going to continue to have a strong alliance. I think the important question is where does the — the only bus that is really important is the Iranian nuclear bus. That's the one that we have to derail. And that's my interest, and that's my only interest.